Gomez tipped to beat 40-year record

German goalscoring legend Gerd Muller is confident that current Bayern Munich star Mario Gomez can beat his record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season.

“He is capable of beating my record, there is no doubt about that. And I would be happy for it to be beaten by a Bayern player,” Muller told German daily newspaper Bild.

Gomez, 26, was top of the scoring charts last season with 28 goals but this season has already netted 10 times in only nine games.

Muller, nicknamed ‘Der Bomber’, was top scorer seven times and beat the 30 barrier five times for a total of 365 goals in 427 matches. He set his record in 1972.

Since then only Dieter Muller had managed more than 30 – he netted 34 times for Cologne in the 1976-77 season.

Gerd Muller also holds the German national team mark with 68 goals but Miroslav Klose is catching up as he hit his 62nd goal in the recent Euro 2012 qualifier against Austria.

Gomez has only 21 for Die Mannschaft to date but has time on his hands at 26 whereas Klose, now with Lazio but formerly at Bayern, is a veteran at 33.